


Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium

by LaLionne (otayuriistheliteralbest)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Fluff, Lancelot - Freeform, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22259425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otayuriistheliteralbest/pseuds/LaLionne
Summary: Lotor goes looking for cat toys for his mother's new cat and ends up with something more.---A small crash resounded through the small shop, and Lotor glanced up, trying to spot where it had come from.“Welcome to Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium!” a strangled voice came from the back of the shop. “I’ll be--sorry, I’ll be with you in a moment!”
Relationships: Lance/Lotor (Voltron)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 105





	Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SharkGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkGirl/gifts).



> Happy belated Christmas to the ever-lovely SharkGirl! I hope you like this fic, my dear! <3

The pet shop seemed innocuous at first glance, a simple local shop tucked in between a clock repair store and a bookshop. Vines grew up the brickwork of the storefront, bedecked for the holiday season in fairy lights and baubles that twinkled gently like stars in the night sky. The small windows displayed dog toys and treats, a stuffed toy dog wearing a plaid winter jacket. A fat grey cat basked lazily on a stand in the window, flicking her tail back and forth from time to time. The carved wooden sign that hung above the door loudly proclaimed, “Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium” in curling bright blue letters.

Lotor smiled at the sight of the cat and pulled the door open. A bell chimed above him and he glanced around. The inside of the pet shop was...a bit of a mess. There appeared to be some sort of organization to the chaos by type of animal, with birds chirping happily from their enclosures right next to all the bird pet supplies. Mice in varying sizes scurried about a cage on the opposite wall from the birds. They seemed to be little acrobats, jumping around on top of one another. Lotor eyed them, fascinated, as the smallest mouse jumped onto the belly of a mouse three times its size to bounce onto a higher platform in the enclosure.

A small crash resounded through the small shop, and Lotor glanced up, trying to spot where it had come from.

“Welcome to Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium!” a strangled voice came from the back of the shop. “I’ll be—sorry, I’ll be with you in a moment!”

Lotor couldn’t see who was speaking, and he strained to look over the displays to find the owner of the voice to no avail. Perplexed, he carefully made his way through the aisles of toys, remedies, and treats. Lotor turned a corner and found who had spoken—a lithe man with bronze-toned skin and a rumpled blue t-shirt, who was at that moment trapped underneath a fallen metal display rack of dog toys.

“Are you all right? Here, let me help you,” Lotor said. He heaved the display rack upright with a foot on the base to support it while the shop clerk brushed away the fallen toys that had piled atop him.

“Thank you, you’re my hero,” the man said after he was able to catch his breath. “I wasn’t paying attention and bumped into the display—must not be as sturdy as I thought it was!” 

Lotor raised one stark white brow in thought and offered his hand to the fallen man, who gripped it readily, lifting himself off of the ground. His hand felt warm in Lotor’s, and he had the thought that he didn’t want to let him go.

“Sorry about all that. My name is Lance and I am the owner of this fine establishment. What’s your name? What can I help you with today? I’ll even give you ten percent off for rescuing me from that man-eating shelving unit!”

Lance ended this pronouncement with a hearty wink, forcing a snort of amusement from Lotor. The corners of Lance’s eyes crinkled in mirth, and Lotor had to clear his throat, tugging the knot of his tie a little looser. 

“Er… My name is Lotor. I actually was looking for a gift for my mother. She recently adopted a white Persian and is still trying to work out what toys Princess Honey likes.”

Lance perked up. “I have an entire section of cat toys! They can definitely be challenging to buy for; a toy that a cat absolutely loves one day, they can completely ignore the next. Come this way.” Lance waved a hand to the other side of the store, putting one hand at the small of Lotor’s back to guide him.

He pointed out several options to Lotor, who felt like he was more than a little over his head. There was something about Lance’s pure, positive energy that Lotor wanted to grasp with both hands and never let go. He kept getting distracted by the feeling in his stomach, a stirring of  _ something _ that could lead to  _ something more.  _ It seemed bizarre, but Lotor enjoyed the cheery way that Lance spoke about the cat toys and animals in his shop. 

Together, the pair brought the toys to the front register, where the smoky grey cat now lounged, her tail flicking back and forth in interest as the toys and treats were set next to her.

“Now don’t you get any fancy ideas, Luna,” Lance chastised, one hand on his hip. “These toys aren’t for you.”

The cat merely glanced away from him as if to say, ‘As if I would ever be interested in  _ playing _ with a  _ toy.’ _ Lotor hid his grin behind one hand, smoothing his fingers across his lips to get rid of the smile before Lance turned to look his way once more.

“Does she often steal toys from your customers?” Lotor couldn’t stop himself from asking. He reached out a hand for the cat to sniff. At first she continued her disinterested air, but it wasn’t long before she side-eyed his fingers and tilted her head to butt against it. Lotor let her scratch herself against his hand, his amusement clear on his face.

“Not often, no. And she very rarely condescends to allow someone besides me to pet her.”

Lance rung Lotor up while he lavished Luna with attention. A tentative moment when he turned his hand to scritch behind her ears—would she scratch him?—passed without incident. Lotor had to reach into his pocket with his offhand to pull out his wallet because when he tried to stop petting her, Luna had grumbled so loudly that both men burst out laughing.

“Well, here’s everything for Princess Honey. Thank you for shopping at Lance’s Pet Shop Emporium!”

Lotor disengaged himself from Luna’s grasp and picked up the proffered paper bag. He let their hands brush on purpose, just to gauge Lance’s reaction. A flush rose up the other man’s neck, and he squeaked out a, “Come again!” a couple of octaves higher than usual. 

_ Well, well, well, then. _ Lotor smiled to himself, calculating, and said, “Would you like to go out to dinner with me? Say, tomorrow night?”

“Uh—I’m not sure if that’s—” Lance stuttered.

“As a thank you, of course,” Lotor replied quickly. “For your generous hospitality and assistance.”

Lance’s eyelashes fluttered in thought. “Ye—yeah, okay then. Sure.” He seemed to right himself mentally, coming back to the cheerful demeanor he had had after Lotor rescued him from the fallen shelving unit. “Dinner tomorrow would be cool.”

“What time do you close? Would six o’clock work?”

They hashed out the details for the following night, and as Lotor left, he gave one last pat to Luna’s head.

He would have to thank his mother for adopting the world’s pickiest cat. Perhaps a bouquet of lilies.


End file.
